Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,995, settled in 1909.
Taft earns a D−, ranked 743rd of 841 in California, mostly because of safety and incomes. It reports more crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns, including 26 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $73K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. Taft’s July high is 97°F, above both California’s towns (89°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). Taft is home to Taft College. Among 613 California towns, just 5 have a lower typical home value than Taft.
Where Taft beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Taft College | 3,092 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Taft is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,317 in 1920, 8,546 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Taft, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Taft.
Taft has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
At 2.9 years of the Bakersfield metro’s $70K median household income, the typical home (about $207K) costs less against local pay than in 98% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $2,244, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Taft home is worth about $207,000, down 1.5% in a year, 73% below the California typical home. Taft’s median rent is $1,069 a month.
| Taft | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,069 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 55% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Taft City school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Taft Union High, with 1,064 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Junior HighLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 748 | A |
| Taft Union HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,064 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 262 to 182 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Taft is 22.8 per 1,000 residents. Taft reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 88% report less. The violent crime rate in Taft is 3.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Taft | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.8 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Taft | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Taft State Park | — | 6 |
| 2. A Street Park | — | 6 |
| 3. Taft City Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 85% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The nearest emergency room, Mercy Hospital, is 28.1 miles away in a straight line.
19% of adults binge drink in Taft. Taft beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 39% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Taft.
| Taft | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 72% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Taft | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 31.8% | 35.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.4% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Taft weather station records that about 113 days a year reach 90°, more than in 97% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 97.3°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 39.5°.
Taft has mild winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Taft has about as many jobs (3,147) as working residents, but only 759 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 18.8 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
About one in 4 of Taft’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Taft has lost 185 jobs, to 3,147 in 2023. The top destinations are Bakersfield (17%), Los Angeles (4%) and South Taft (2%).
| Taft | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Taft
About 7 of every 100 Taft residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
9 notable people were born in Taft.
City in California, United States
Taft (formerly Moron, Moro, and Siding Number Two) is a city in the foothills at the extreme southwestern edge of the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California. Taft is located 32 miles (51 km) west-southwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 955 feet (291 m). The population was 8,546 at the 2020 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 square miles (39.6 km2). It was named for President William Howard Taft in 1909.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Taft.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taft | #743 | D− | C | D | C− | C |
| South Taft | #717 | D− | B | — | C− | C− |
| Taft Heights | — | — | C+ | — | C− | D |
Taft Heights has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. South Taft and Taft Heights report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Taft with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Taft grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #743 of 841 in California. It grades C for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2.9 years of the area's median household income ($70,210 across the Bakersfield-Delano, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
9 notable people were born here, including Jeanne Cooper and Ronald Graham.